These were the shoes worn by Ali during one of the most famous and dramatic boxing matches of all time – the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” fight with Joe Frazier.
The fight, which Ali has said was “the closest thing to dying that I know of”, saw the heavyweight champions go at it for 14 rounds in a sweltering, sold-out stadium in the Philippines.
These white leather shoes were laced to the champion’s feet as he claimed his victory, arguably the greatest of his career. Each shoe features 20 eyelets, with circular red, white and blue Everlast patches. The pair shows obvious signs of wear, and was sold during the Sports Collectibles Platinum Night Auction held by the United States-based Heritage Auctions. Bidding was extremely competitive as items belonging to Ali remain incredibly popular. Also sold during this auction was the only known pre-Civil War baseball team card and a 1927 New York Yankees team-signed baseball that went for Dh439,000.
Ali’s shoes were kept by his assistant and friend Drew ‘Bundini’ Brown. It is Brown’s handwriting that is to be found on the inside of the shoes, where the words “Ali-Frazier, Oct 1, 1975” and “Mo Speeed” are written in blue marker. The latter phrase is a good-luck mantra, also found on the shoes Ali wore during his second contest with Frazier.
The provenance of these collectibles is further proven by signed letters from famed Ali trainer Wali Muhammad, and noted boxing-collectibles expert Craig Hamilton.
sdenman@thenational.ae
